90

Great expansion

I love this expansion pack for Civilization V. Religion and espionage are very welcome additions that give you variety and additional strategies.
Religion gives bonuses specific bonuses to your civ, but also another set of bonuses to anybody that follows this religion. This is a nice balancing act of wanting to get something nice for yourself, but also trying to keep from doing anything too nice for your neighbors. Religions will also give you bonuses when it comes to diplomacy.
Espionage lets you see the other cities, and might even let you steal a technology from another civ. You also have a chance to uncover plots against you or against other civs, which gives you leverage. It's nothing huge, but it rounds out the political gameplay nicely.
This is a welcome addition to Civ V, and I highly recommend you pick this up.

88

A great addition

This DLC expands Civilization V in a good way that fixes some of the old issues and does not cause new ones. It adds some cool new features and city-states as well as religion. Religion was integrated into the Civilization franchise in Civilization IV, which had some big problems concerning religion. This re-integration of it into the franchise is much smoother and is over all better, however it does not do very much. If you spend your time working only on religion you are going to lose and on top of that, it does very little for you. The best strategy is to not even work towards religion. It is useless for the most part, but does add small bonuses. The best bonuses seem to come from happiness modifiers, giving more happiness for religious buildings, amount of citizens following a religion, or any number of other possibilities, however if you were fine without religion before the integration, you will be fine without it still. I just find it a waste of time.
I liked all of the additions from this expansion, but the religion is still not what it needs to be. I expect they will be improving on it soon.

89

Add a new layer of strategy

Gods and Kings adds on to an already great game by giving you more options for domination. This add-on gives you the strategic ability to weaken your foes and gain influence in their cities passively, which is great since before the only way you could do this was with money. Now you can turn you nation into a religious society sending priests to enemy nations to sway their people into submission. This add-on allows for more options when trying a cultural or economic victory.

85

Very Enjoyable, yet not Game-Changing

This DLC breathed some new life into a game that was already great, and made it greater. The addition of spies and religion added another tool to build your empire with, and they were implemented well.
Religion, in my opinion, is pretty much perfect. It is respectably important to your empires strength in that the benefits included are fairly significant and missing your chance to found your own religion is a tough hit, but not a crippling one. The religion aspect fits quite snug in the game's dynamics; not making other mechanisms significantly more or less important than they already were.
Espionage however, does not have as great an impact on the course of a game. I enjoy how spying and it's intricacies now take place in it's own menu rather than having to move spies across the map as a land unit. In my experience however, they don't have much of an effect on the outcome of a game. Stealing a technology is fairly significant, however, this normally takes a large amount of turns and doesn't happen to frequently in a game. Sharing intrigue with other Civs and discovering who is plotting against who is the biggest, and most rewarding part about espionage in my opinion.
Overall, this add-on is a great one. The added Civs, mechanics, wonders and units all add to your game-play experience while staying true to the foundations of the game. You'll still be playing for hours!

90

Awesome addon

85

A great add-on for Civ V players

Adds a lot to the game, new mechanics and civs, wonders, ways to win the game and more. I'd definitely recommend this. Maybe not for full price, though. And it was a bit different at first, since I spent a good 200 hrs in the original Civ V game. but it was well worth it after getting used to it

89

Awesome expansion that adds much needed religion

Religion was one of my favourite aspects of past civ games, and its addition into civ 5 was very welcome. It adds a whole new layer and polish.
Also, spies can be a game changer, mixing up matches to make them much more interesting. I was bored of civ 5 before I got this expansion, but after installing it, I have put another 20 hours into the game. I'd say an extra 20 hours is worth it for the price.
Every little addition they make to civ 5 brings it closer and closer to the perfection of the civ games before it.

80

Improves Civilization 5 and is a much needed expansion.

The additional features in the game provide some interesting gameplay approaches. You can influence and weaken your enemies with your religious influences. The other additional, espionage, does not make a huge impact to the overall strategy of the game. Spies from your enemies can improve their technologies but does not hinder your progress. You can steal other nations technologies if you're behind technological advancements but awards does not benefit over the risks considering you can lose influences. If you already game the standalone Civilization game then you need to expansion for some interesting gaming strategies.

82

Religion and More

This expansion brings a new spiritual dimension to the Civ 5 gameplay, and it is a welcome addition. The new options for founding and improving a religious tradition are well integrated in the the Great Person and diplomacy aspects of the game; the system is not too complicated and works well as another feature to manage and play with in your empire.
The espionage aspect has, in my experience, a much lower impact, but having the option to place spies and the need to prevent rival spies from stealing your information also provided some helpful complexity to the game.
In short, if you enjoyed Civ 5, you'll enjoy the expanded features found here. It's not earthshaking or game-changing, but it is enjoyable.

88

Closer to Perfection

With this new expansion Civilization 5 really became the game it was supposed to be. While the vanilla release of Civilization 5 was rather dull, Gods and Kings brings elements such as espionage and religion back in to play. These both go quite a way towards making the game a little bit more lively and definitely make the game much more complex than Civ 5 originally was. The espionage system, while fairly simple, adds a bit more subtle aggression to the game. I would love to see them do more with espionage in the future and bring it back to what it was in earlier installments of the game. The religion system is easy to use and adds some fun little perks to the game. While these two systems add an okay amount of fun content to the game, what really sells it for me is the overhaul of game mechanics and the new civilizations. I love having a large variety of Civs to play. I was much more impressed with Civ 5 after this expansion and it definitely has me excited for the next expansion coming out soon.

93

Great Expansion!

This expansion is practically mandatory for Civilization 5! It ads some great new features in both the early game and the late game (religion and espionage) and really just fleshes out the base game in general.
Gods and Kings doesn't necessarily bring Civilization 5 up to the level of features that Civilization 4 had but I think overall it's a much better game. We're still missing some features here and there (hopefully the next expansion can bring parity to the previous game) but everything just feels more modern and easy to use and play.
Very highly recommended.

83

A great expansion that rounds out the game

This expansion does an excellent job at balancing new features and adding polish into the game. The two new mechanics add interesting gameplay situations without over-complicating the game.
Furthermore, the new expansion is very flexible and does not make the game any more difficult or exhausting. Rather, it provides new paths to victory that expands your freedom of control.
Spies have a unique spot in the game that solidly represents the secret suspicious of various countries beyond the "guarded" rating that was previous in place. Catching a spy or stealing a technology are both very rewarding, while having a real impact on how a game could turn out. It also makes multiplayer games much more interesting!
Gods and Kings is an expansion definately worth getting for players who already enjoy Civilization V and want just a bit more.

80

Brings Civ5 Up to Par with Older Games (Somewhat)

I was relatively disappointed with the original Civ5, like many long-time Civ fans. Though I didn't quite detest it as much as some of its detractors, I still found it lacking - there was really nothing else to do besides waging war and preparing for war, and there was little of interest to do besides those two things. However, Gods and Kings fixes this, somewhat, and makes Civ5 a relatively enjoyable experience compared to vanilla Civ5. The addition of religion is cleverly implemented - the choices you make in terms of religious beliefs for your civ will impact your game and allow you to specialize your religion. Overall, God and Kings is a solid expansion pack that makes Civ5 enjoyable at last - unfortunately, this sort of thing should have been in Civ5 in the first place.

90

Exactly what the first version should have been

So, Gods & Kings adds exactly what needed to go into this game. Now, it's the perfect Civ 5 and only leaves bigger hopes for the next expansion due out in the upcoming months. Highly recommend this game and know that if you weren't too keen on Civ 5 when it first came out, it's right where it needs to be with this expansion.

85

Great if you like Civ 5 (but it Won't Change Your Mind)

While it's not going to win over anyone who is a fanatic Civ 4 player, the Gods & Kings expansion pack finally does what all the other DLC has refused to attempt to do; bring the features of the game in line with prior entries of the series.
There are two new systems introduced; a religion system and an espionage system. The religious system is far more readily tangible, with faith building up to being able to spend it on units among other things, as well as sending out missionaries to the far flung regions of the world to make diplomacy with the Franks easier.
The Espionage system is, without irony intended, a subtle addition. You do not perceive any of these units like your normal units, instead assigning them on intel missions, offensively or defensively, scurrilously working to steal/protect those state secrets.
Additionally, it gives many of the statistics and resultant gameplay an overhaul that freshens the game after being out for some time, forcing anyone resting on laurels of experience and exposure to think again and try new tactics.
While it won't change your mind if you don't like Civ 5, it will make Civ 5 feel that more thought out and considered and that has made almost all the difference with my recent multiplayer sessions. To summarise, while not necessarily the most definitive expansion this game could have received, going back to play normal Civ 5 feels bare without this.

95

Excellent expansion for an excellent game!

Hi all, long time Civ veteran here. Firaxis does it again here as they have done with Beyond the Sword, put out one excellent expansion for an already excellent game! This expansion brings Civ V up to a whole new level and yes it certainly does change the game without a shadow of a doubt. The added religion is huge and espionage is effective, fun and works! Overall G&K is a totally must buy for any Civ V fans.

80

A solid expansion that does not quite change the game.

Gods & Kings is by no means a game changer. If you don't already love Civilization V then is is unlikely to change that. If you do love it, though, then this expansion holds a good amount of content. The new religion and espionage systems in particular are a very welcome addition to what was already a fairly deep game.
The ability to customize your religon to suit your playstyle makes it a particularly useful tool in your quest for victory. Going for a science victory? Then choose religion traits that grant you science bonuses.
Espionage, while being the simpler of the two new game mechanics, is particularly fun. It is a shame that your spies aren't actual units on the map as everything is done through a menu. But that menu adds an interesting level of complexity to diplomacy while also allowing you to get a research boost by stealing tech from your enemies when you find yourself lagging behind.
Overall, Gods & Kings is worth the asking price if what you want is to breathe new life into your Civilization V expenrience. If you were hoping for a game-changer, though, then this isn't the expansion for you.